1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnosis apparatus and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Elastography is a method of indicating the elasticity of a subject as an image. In elastography, the brightness and/or color of pixels of an image may be adjusted according to the elasticity of a subject. The elasticity of a subject may be obtained by strain of the subject due to a pressure applied to the subject.
The elasticity of a subject is related to a pathological phenomenon of the subject. Tumor tissues are harder than normal tissues. That is, since the elasticity of a tumor tissue is higher than the elasticity of a normal tissue, when the same pressure is applied to the tumor tissue and the normal tissue, the strain of the normal tissue is greater than the strain of the tumor tissue. Thus, elastography is used to diagnose tumor or cancer. For example, an elasticity contrast index (ECI) obtained by using elastography may be used to diagnose a nodule of a tissue. An ECI is obtained by quantifying a hardness difference between a nodule of a tissue and a normal tissue around the nodule. As an ECI increases, a nodule is harder, and the nodule is more likely to be malignant. In addition, elastography may be applied to various fields such as kidney transplant monitoring, skin and tissue engineering, cancer prognosis monitoring as well as detection and analysis of cancer or tumor.
Accordingly, there is a need for a diagnosis apparatus that effectively uses elastography and a method of operating the diagnosis apparatus.